Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
Keywords: Year 6, Harry, Hermione, IMS, Magus
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
"Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."-Les Brown
He had trailed behind on the way downstairs, keeping counsel with himself. He debated internally: What should he tell Hermione? What should he tell Ron? The debate subsided rather quickly and was replaced with feelings of great annoyance and even a little worry. What business did Ron have deciding he wanted another chance with Hermione? Had Hermione done anything to make Ron think that there was a chance for reconciliation? Had she been giving him mixed signals?
He felt the odd sensation of someone inside his head for just a quick moment before it disappeared completely. He shook himself, trying to dispel his sense of unease at the oddness of the situation when he caught Hermione's gaze. Her toffee eyes were wide and the look of her face had shifted dramatically. Gone was the sparkle in her eye, and in its place was a look of agitated horror. He nodded softly, knowing that somehow, she had read his thoughts. She sighed audibly as the portrait was pulled open by Ron, who looked about ready to start whistling.
Dinner was quiet and went by rather slowly. Harry brooded most of the meal, leaving Ron feeling slightly awkward in response to his friend's behaviour. Hermione struggled with small talk and the handful of Professors at the table didn't seem in the mood for any sort of discussion. The plates cleared after what felt like an eternity and Harry quickly excused himself, citing exhaustion for his abrupt departure.
He walked quickly through the halls toward his dorm. His steps echoed loudly and he didn't diminish his speed until he noticed he was practically running down the hallway. He slowed down, the pounding steps dimming until there was only a soft thudding in the cavernous halls. He reached his dorm room and closed the door behind him, muttering a locking spell.
He pulled his t-shirt over his head and moved over to the wardrobe. Opening the drawer, he searched for his pyjamas. He rifled through the clothes, searching for the pyjamas. After a few minutes and a fruitless search, he turned to face the room, his eyes scanning over the room a few times before settling on the t-shirt and pants tossed in the corner of the room. He sighed, and walked towards the clothes.
As he was pulling on the pyjama pants, he heard a soft pop. He turned and was shocked to see Hermione standing in the middle of his room.
"Hermione!" He yanked the pyjama pants up and stared at her, annoyed.
She was blushing and a sheepish smile was creeping across her lips. "Sorry."
His look changed to one of incredulous horror.
"Oh, Harry, it's not like you haven't seen your share before. All's fair in love and war." She grinned at him, blushing slightly.
He blushed deeply, remembering the night last year when he had walked in on her changing. He opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut again, opting to just look at her instead. "Well, haven't you ever heard of knocking?"
She laughed and shook her head as her expression changed to one of bemusement. "Had I used the door…"
"Why did you apparate in here anyhow?"
"Oh, yes. Because it would just be a brilliant idea to stroll through the lounge in my dressing gown to your room. Especially with Ron lying on the sofa."
Harry sighed with resignation and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "Remind me again why he's in there."
"Harry, he's our friend. And besides, Dumbledore requested that he stay here as a sort of protection."
"I still don't understand. This is Hogwarts. Isn't it supposed to be the safest place in the wizarding world?"
Hermione just shrugged. "Everything is so different now. Besides, it's really not that big of an issue."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Have you talked to Ron yet?"
"I thought you were going to talk to Ron." She shifted uncomfortably as she said it, moving her gaze away from his.
"Well, for whatever reason, he seems to think you two have a bloody chance, so it's probably best you talk with him. "
"But you're his best friend."
He sat down on the bed and looked at her. "Hermione, what happened at the Bur-"
A loud knock sounded on the door and Hermione's soft smile immediately faded.
"Harry?" came Ron's disembodied voice.
"Er, hold on a second, Ron! I'm, er, changing!" Harry called, springing off of the bed.
"Alright."
Hermione looked slightly panicked and Harry motioned for her to go into the bathroom.
She moved stealthily towards the bathroom and slipped in just as Harry moved to open his bedroom door.
"Heya Ron, come on in." Harry said, ignoring the questioning look on Ron's face. Ron walked into the room and immediately sat down on the bed, where Hermione had been just moments before.
"Harry, I want to talk to you about Hermione."
Harry gulped. "What about Hermione?"
"Well, before we went down to dinner, she seemed so happy. Then, once we got to the kitchens, it seemed like something had changed."
Harry tried to keep his eyes on Ron, refusing to allow himself to look towards the bathroom. "I think we should go for a walk."
"Why?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, Hermione might hear."
"She won't hear anything through two or three thick stone walls, Harry."
"I suppose you're right."
Ron gave him an odd look. "Now, about Hermione. Why's she been acting so strangely?"
"How do you mean?"
Ron looked at him with a confused stare on his face. "What do you mean how do I mean? She was different! Is it that time-"
"Ron. No. That's not it. I think there's something I should tell you. Something I should have told you earlier."
Ron narrowed his eyes at Harry. "What is it?"
Harry took a deep breath. "HermioneandIlikeeachother."
The sharp intake of air was audible in the palpable silence that overtook the room.
"You. Harry. Like. Hermione?"
"Erm, yes. And she likes me. We're…well, we're together."
Harry waited. And waited. And no response came. Ron stared at him icily for a few moments before slowly standing up.
"Ron?"
"I told you earlier what I felt for her! Don't you think then would have been an a good time to tell me? It's a good job I didn't bloody well tell Hermione! How long were you going to bloody wait? Was I to get a surprise wedding invitation in the mail?"
Harry stared at his best friend. "I was just waiting for the right time to tell you."
"Well now was fucking perfect Harry! Go on then, have a nice life!" Ron stalked across the room and flung open Harry's door, which crashed against the wall.
The door to the bathroom opened and Hermione stood framed in dark shadows, a stricken look on her face.
They heard a loud pounding and she shook herself briefly.
"I'll go talk to him. Maybe I can straighten this out."
There was more pounding on her bedroom door and within a short moment, she was gone with a pop, leaving Harry to figure out exactly what had just happened.
Harry, Hermione and Ron skirted around each other for the next few days. Ron was careful to avoid both of them most of the day and at meals, he would enter the kitchen, take something offered to him by one of the house elves and disappear to, presumably, the IMS common room. Harry and Hermione ignored each other whenever they were within view of Ron, which was rare. Ron had moved out into the common room; Dumbledore had refused to allow him to sleep in Gryffindor Tower alone. Wednesday finally came around and as the day wore on, Harry greatly looked forward to the lesson with Ami and Rachel.
"Hermione?" Harry said, knocking softly on her bedroom door.
"Come in."
She was sprawled on her bed, her nose buried in one of the volumes Rachel had given him.
"I'm going to my lesson with Ami and Rachel now."
She looked up at him before turning to the clock on her nightstand. "Oh, I'd completely lost track of time. I suppose I'm ready. It's just my mum and Ami."
Harry nodded silently as she stood up and brushed her clothes out.
"Is Ron still in the common room?"
"I think so."
She peered at him for a moment. "Let's go then." She took his hand and practically pulled him through the lounge, a determined air to her step.
They walked quickly through the common room, hands linked and heading towards the Great Hall. Harry barely registered the red head sticking over the couch, distinctly facing away from them.
As soon as they had exited the common room, Harry stopped and turned to Hermione.
"What was the point of that?"
"Point of what?"
"Nearly wrenching my arm out of its socket and putting on a show for Ron!"
"Oh Harry, that was hardly a show. This hiding is the show, not that. That's how we act."
"Yes, because it is just so normal for us to walk around together, you dragging me around by my arm!"
"Harry, you've missed my point entirely. I don't want to hide. Especially not from Ron."
"I think we should have a little more tact than snogging senselessly in the halls."
"That was hand-holding, not snogging."
"Hermione, in Ron's eyes, it's the same thing."
"You know what, Harry? I don't care, I don't care! You're my boyfriend and I want to hold your hand. I want to kiss you. I want to have this one little aspect of my life be normal."
He couldn't help the grin that slid slowly across his lips.
"What? Why are you smiling at me like that?" she said, her tone softening as she moved in closer to him.
"You called me your boyfriend," he said quietly as he reached up to tuck a lose curl back.
She smiled at him before tilting her chin up to kiss him gingerly on the lips. "Well. You are."
He grinned again. "So I am."
She pulled away from him and smiled before offering her hand. "I promise I won't pull your arm out of the socket."
"Alright. But don't think this is settled. We need to tread carefully right now."
She sighed and nodded slowly. "I know."
Ami and Rachel were sitting in the same classroom as usual, though they were relatively quiet and looked very tired. Rachel perked up somewhat as they came in.
"Evening."
"Hi mum. Ami. I hope you don't mind me joining tonight." Hermione looked somewhat timid as she approached them, and Harry found it quite odd.
"Oh, not at all. Tonight will be our last quiet lesson. Next week, we'll start working with Harry's powers. Hermione, you're welcome then as well."
Hermione looked excited at the prospect and smiled, easing into the situation. "That would be wonderful."
"So, Harry," Rachel turned to him, "do you have any questions for us?"
He nodded and pulled out a chair to sit in front of Rachel and the still-quiet Ami. Hermione did the same and as soon as she was settled, he began. "I was reading through the books you gave me. Everything about the Magi and how it relates to the four keys still confuses me. And about Tristram-"
"Harry, you'll have to forgive me for our last lesson. Tristram was a great and powerful wizard, but so little is known about him and his disappearance. Your news that he was in the graveyard is a rather important piece of information. I spoke with Dumbledore and based on what he could tell me, it seems that Tristram is, for whatever reason, helping Voldemort. This worries me, as, before the Order of Ariel was reinstated, Tristram was the last Guardian of the Order."
She paused dramatically.
"Erm, mum?"
"Yes, Hermione?"
"What exactly is the Order?"
Rachel looked somewhat taken aback. "Well, it's a society of wizards formed to protect the wizarding world from impending evils."
"Yes, but why so…well, ordered? There were so many ceremonial portions of that meeting the other night."
"It's all tradition. The Sharing of the Powers and all that."
"What is it for?"
Rachel sighed and looked at Hermione as if her daughter should already know the answer. "The Founders of Hogwarts created the Order when the school was founded. In order to protect the wizarding world, they created Hogwarts, which is more than a school. Imbedded in the very walls is a magic so powerful and so strong that there is only one way it can be defeated. An ancient type of magic was used to build this place and only an ancient magic could make Hogwarts unsafe. The Order was originally created to control the magic and protect the secrets of Hogwarts. However, as the years have gone by, the exact science of the magic is gone. It is really unknown how the school was created."
Harry looked back and forth between Rachel and Hermione. Rachel was watching Hermione studiously scribble everything she had just said. He felt his mind stretching, attempting to consume everything Rachel had just told them.
"You mean there's no written record of the Founding?" Hermione asked suddenly, having finished her note taking.
"Not really. There's speculation and whatnot, but there's really no concrete account on how the school was built. We can assume it was via some magical means, but really we know very little about it."
"If we don't know anything about the ancient magic or whatever, then what is the point of the Order?" Harry inquired, looking at Rachel with his eyebrows knit in concentration.
"As I'm sure you noted, the Order originally consisted of four, plus one Guardian. The membership has grown to ten, plus one Guardian and another person, who just assists the Order. As a group, we are much the same as the original four; just there are more of us. Rather than protecting an ancient magic, we seek instead to prevent too much Dark magic in the world."
"Too much?" Hermione asked incredulously, staring at her mother. "Why not get rid of all Dark magic?"
"Surely, Hermione, you understand the importance of balance in nature. There must be some Dark magic in the world, to ensure a natural harmony, for even too much good can become evil. However, we are here to prevent the balance from shifting. It is a precarious balance, but it exists nonetheless."
Rachel then launched into a talk about the history of the Order, detailing for them great historical victories. Harry half-listened; his mind often drifted to Hermione or to other random thoughts. Hermione, however, was listening intently; she scribbled notes occasionally and asked questions about particular events or people.
When she had finished her long diatribe, she looked at them. "Any questions?"
Harry was jerked away from his daydreams and blinked a few times. "Hmm?"
Rachel raised an eyebrow at him. "Any questions?"
"Erm…no."
"How does this all connect?" Hermione said, not looking up from her notes.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brow.
"Well… we know a little about the Four Keys, but not much. Tristram is a mystery. Harry's powers. The Order. What's the tie?"
Ami spoke up. "I don't think we really have an answer for that. Not yet anyhow. We've encountered a bit of a snag."
"How so?" Hermione asked, looking directly at Ami.
"Well, we've unearthed some interesting documents…" Ami picked up a leather case from the desk next to her, pulling it open and flipping through it. "Here." She handed Hermione an old piece of parchment.
Hermione looked it over, her eyes widening.
"What is it Hermione?" Rachel said, looking at her daughter strangely.
Hermione thrust the paper at Harry. He took it from her slowly, and looked at it, his eyes taking in the familiar scrawling hand and the odd words.
"It's-ow!" Harry looked aghast at Hermione, who was sitting primly in her desk, hands folded casually on the table.
"It's what?" Rachel asked, narrowing her eyes at the pair.
"Er... nothing." Harry said softly. "I thought it looked familiar, but I was wrong."
It was obvious by the look on her face that she didn't believe either of them. Narrowing her eyes at them, she spoke softly, "If you don't know what it is… we'll just have to continue looking into it.
Harry nodded slowly, avoiding both Rachel and Hermione's gazes. He looked down at his hands, tracing the lines on his palms with his eyes as Rachel continued to talk.
"..and next lesson, I want to work on the telepathy. Dumbledore feels that if Harry is able to hone this skill, it'll give us a slight advantage in this war."
Hermione was nodding at Rachel as Harry picked up bits of their conversation. He was suddenly a bit uncomfortable in the room and his attention wandered to the window. The room was reflected in the glass, an odd orange light cast over the room from the torches on the walls. He watched as Rachel discussed their next lesson, as Hermione nodded in agreement and as Ami twiddled a quill in her fingers. He noticed in the reflection that she was looking directly at him and he turned his gaze to her.
The bored look on her face matched his and they smiled secretly at each other.
I love this…really, I do.
Harry nearly spoke out loud as the voice rocketed through his mind. I didn't know this still worked.
Of course it does. The Fidelius Charm is still in place.
True. If you don't like this, then why did you volunteer to do it?
I could be asking you the same question.
Harry paused, trying to think over his response. Well, I wanted to learn more about this Mage business. I did sort of think we'd be doing more practical lessons, instead of all this theoretical stuff.
Hmm, we'll be getting to that next lesson. I think this history bit is rather boring as well. I'm anxious to try out some of the things I was reading about.
Harry laughed inside his head. Should I consider myself some sort of magical experiment?
Ami tried to hide a smile. But, of course. It's actually pretty interesting. You've got some neat powers.
Harry?
Harry tipped slightly in his chair as another voice entered his head. He quickly severed his mental tie with Ami and looked at Hermione, who looked startled.
"Yes, Hermione?" he said cautiously.
Rachel looked bewildered. "Harry! She didn't say anything!"
Hermione shook her head. "Er… yes, I did. I said 'Harry?'"
"You did?" Rachel said, looking ever more confused.
"Um, yes."
"I think I'm tired." Rachel peeked at her wristwatch. "Ah, looks to be about that time. We've been here nearly three hours. Hard to believe, isn't it?"
Harry avoided Ami's eyes as he nodded at Rachel.
They said their goodbyes then and Harry and Hermione walked out of the room. As soon as they were out of range, Hermione grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him between two suits of armour.
"What happened?" she said, just barely above a whisper.
"Don't ask me! You talked inside my head, remember?"
"Do you think it was the telepathy?"
Harry sighed. "I'm not sure. Why don't you ask Ami?"
"How would she know?"
Harry just shrugged and Hermione gave him an odd look before peering out beyond the armour. She linked her fingers through his and they strolled slowly through the corridors of the castle.
They made it back to the common room in good time and Hermione stopped just outside the door and turned to Harry again, looking at him expectantly.
He smiled at her. "What?"
"Do I get a kiss goodnight?"
"Ah, but it is not yet goodnight. Will you meet for a walk tonight? We could even stroll outside. It's a beautiful night."
"Aww, Mr Potter, are you asking me for a midnight stroll?"
Harry blushed and laughed softly. "You could say that."
"What time is it?"
"Just after ten."
She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Meet me here at half past twelve," she whispered in his ear.
He looked at her and kissed her lightly. "I'll be here."
She slipped into the common room and the door closed behind her. Harry counted to one hundred and fifty before opening the door.
Ron was sleeping on the couch, his wild red hair sticking in all directions on the pillow and his pyjamas twisted. The blanket was bunched around his legs.
Harry felt himself frowning as he looked at his best friend, wondering if they'd be able to repair their differences.
He moved across the room quietly and stopped at his door to look back at his friend once more.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered, looking around the empty entrance hall.
"Hermione. Over here." Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and walked towards her.
"I thought perhaps you'd forgotten," Hermione said, smiling at him.
He smiled back and laced his fingers with hers, pulling her towards the doors. When they had reached them, Harry moved to open the door, but as he stepped closer, he heard the sound of drumming rain outside.
"It's raining," he said softly as he turned towards Hermione.
"It is?"
"Do you just want to walk through the castle?"
"Will we need the Invisibility Cloak?"
"Not really, I just brought it with me in case something were to happen."
"Oh. Well, I suppose it's alright."
They started off towards one of the staircases off the Entrance Hall and Harry tucked the cloak under his arm.
After a few minutes of silence, Harry heard Hermione take a breath.
"Is something wrong?"
"I feel like my mind is going a million miles an hour."
"And this is different how?" Harry said, smiling at her.
She squeezed his hand and he saw her lips moving slightly at the corners before she began to speak again. "I feel like we're missing something; something big that's right in front of us. I need to know if I can learn Mage or not. I'm nearly 100 percent positive that the Prophecy is in Mage and if I was able to understand it, maybe we'd get a clue on how this all fit together."
"I'm sure you can learn it. There's always my Penseive, maybe that'll help."
She seemed to consider this. "Maybe."
He squeezed her hand again and they continued walking.
"Harry, where are we?" Hermione had stopped and was looking at her surroundings.
He looked around as well. "Oh. Actually, I'm not sure. I came through here a few nights ago though, don't worry."
She knitted her eyebrows. "You didn't get lost?"
"Not really. I eventually found my way back to the common room."
"Okay." She said this slowly, looking at him for assurance before taking his hand again.
"Harry?" she looked at him as she said this, breaking the silence that had accompanied them after she had asked of their whereabouts.
"Hm?"
"Do you think Ron will stay angry long?"
"Probably. He tends to be a bit stubborn."
Hermione chuckled ruefully. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Yeah."
"I worry. There's one spot open in IMS. And surely, Ron is the running, but it depends largely on his OWLs and his marks on the MQ test last year. If he doesn't get that space, do you think he'll still talk with us?"
"Hermione, I really think it will all work out for the best. Ron stays mad for a long time, but it doesn't take much to get him un-angry after he has decided he's bored with the stubborn-ness."
"You're right. Am I worrying about nothing?"
"Not about nothing, but not about anything worthwhile in the long run."
"Maybe."
They settled into a silence again, but Harry noticed that Hermione seemed to be actively analysing their surroundings. Her eyes were bouncing around, taking in the odd paintings and statues.
"This is a very old part of the castle." Her voice was barely audible as she spoke, a note of awe barely creeping into her voice.
"Wasn't the entire castle built at the same time?"
"Maybe old was the wrong word. This part of the castle hasn't been used in a very-"
"What?" Harry looked at her, confused.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That noise. It sounded like footsteps."
As soon as she said it, he heard them as well. Harry turned behind him, but saw nothing. He looked at Hermione a moment before pulling her back against the wall, staying near to another piece of armour. Within seconds, he had the cloak draped around them and a hand clasped tightly to Hermione's.
They waited. For what felt like hours. Harry could practically hear his wristwatch ticking away and Hermione's shallow breathes seemed downright thundering.
"Oh…" she gasped.
The footsteps had become very clear and were coming closer. He felt his heart beating in his chest.
The blonde head was the first thing noticeable in the moonlit corridor. The tall, slender figure moved towards them and he felt Hermione relax next to him. Without warning, she let go of his hand.
"Draco?"
"Oh, Hermione. Hello. How are you?"
Harry stared at the two figures standing in front of him, a mere ten feet away. Hermione seemed to be getting on amicably with Draco, unlike he had been unable to do.
"Harry and I were taking a walk-"
"Oh, is Potter around here somewhere with his cloak?"
"How did you know about the cloak?"
"Well, he had it the other night when he was out prowling around the castle, and he had it at the exams last year, I think."
"Oh, that's right. Well, yes, he does have it with him. Like I say, we were out walking and we heard footsteps coming, so we hid behind the armour over there."
Harry could see Draco smirking. "Is that what they're calling it now? Hiding?"
"Oh, now, that's the oldest one in the book."
Was she flirting with him? He shook his head as he watched their exchange. Draco was chatting rather nicely and Hermione was laughing, occasionally shifting her eyes in Harry's direction.
After a few moments of general banter and small talk, Hermione walked back towards him. He took this as his signal to remove the cloak.
"Evening, Potter."
"Malfoy."
Hermione looked between them before throwing her hands up in the air. "Shall we continue on then?"
She began walking, slightly ahead of Harry and Draco, who were walking as far apart from each other as they could without bumping into various columns and statues. Harry remembered this path as they walked and when Hermione made a left when they came to a forked corridor, he was tempted to tell her that right would lead back to the entrance hall. Something in her stride prevented this and he let her walk on.
As they began to descend a case of very dark stairs, he felt something stir inside him. One look at Hermione revealed that she was receiving the same sensations. Malfoy, however, looked oblivious.
As they walked further, the hairs on the back of Harry's neck began to prickle and he walked a tad faster to make a grab for Hermione's hand, which she willingly took. The stairs became a long corridor, which was growing increasingly darker. It wasn't long until Malfoy had pulled out his wand and muttered "Lumos."
The light from the wand tip did little to brighten the dark area. Harry turned his head, looking around them. The narrow corridor has broadened into some sort of chamber, the ceiling of which was obscured by dark shadows that the light did not quite reach.
"Where are we?" Hermione was the first to speak, a hushed whisper that was both fearful and curious.
"I'm not sure. But look." Draco was pointing towards the far wall. They moved towards it, Harry and Hermione having taken out their wands as well.
There were four slots engraved in the ancient stone wall. Draco and Harry simultaneously reached hands out to touch the tapered, rectangular slots.
"What do those carvings mean?"
"Carvings?"
"The four animals," Hermione gestured towards the animals above the slots.
Harry moved closer to the wall and stretched his fingers to trace over the animals. Each animal was a few inches above the slots.
The first was some sort of bird that Harry couldn't quite place. It was a larger bird, he assumed, but as they were just carvings, there was no colour. The second animal was obviously a phoenix, and the one next to it was some sort of cat. The fourth one was distinguishable by its eight legs.
"A spider," Hermione said aloud as she too traced her fingers over it.
Draco and Harry turned to her. "Do you know what they are?" Draco asked quietly.
"Not quite. I'll look into it."
"What about the slots?" Harry asked her.
"Give me your wand, Harry."
He looked sceptical. "Why?"
"I think they're some sort of wand holder."
"No way, Hermione. For all we know, you'll put it in that slot and it'll be absorbed into the wall."
"I'm not going to actually put it in there."
"Use your own wand."
She looked somewhat surprised at this. "Oh… good idea."
"The slots are different lengths," Draco said suddenly. "Look," he pointed.
Harry looked where the other boy was pointing and saw that the bottoms were at different intervals. The long indentures in the wall varied greatly. The one under the bird was long and somewhat wider than the others. Under the phoenix was a slot of medium length and on the thicker side. The cat-like creature stood over a narrow and shorted carved area and the spider was atop a slot that was short and nearly as wide as the one under the raven.
"What do you suppose this is?" Hermione turned to ask her companions.
Draco shrugged as Harry did. "Beyond me," Harry answered her.
Hermione bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Do you think we'll remember how to get back here?"
"We?" Draco asked.
"Yes, we," Hermione answered, raising a single eyebrow at him.
Draco looked at her and Harry watched their odd exchange, trying to puzzle out when they had even started to be on speaking terms with one another.
"Fine. We. Yes, I'm sure we'll be able to find this place again, Hermione."
She nodded and turned from them, heading back towards the stairs they had previously descended.
Thanks to everyone who review WA2. Also, thanks to Elliott, Neil and Julien, my beta readers. Please review! For updates, art, and ficlets visit The Power of Three! at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/powerthree .